The new rules of brand building, with Wieden+Kennedy CEO

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
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**Neal Arthur** (1:13)
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**SPEAKER_1** (1:19)
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**Neal Arthur** (1:59)
People will challenge companies to understand what they believe on topics that they never would have before, right? All of a sudden, in your feed, on whatever platform that you're using, a brand is showing up right behind your best friend, right behind your spouse, and you expect the same things from each of those parties. You expect them to have a sense of humanity and awareness of what's going on in the world. Companies didn't sign up for it. It happened without them knowing.

**Bob Safian** (2:31)
That's Neal Arthur, CEO of ad agency Wieden and Kennedy, most known for its breakthrough work with Nike. I wanted to talk to Neal now, not only because of Nike's much-discussed activation around the World Cup, but because businesses everywhere are struggling with how to show up in a world of unprecedented volatility, and no firm has had a better grasp of consumer sentiment than Wieden and Kennedy. Neal also has a direct pipeline to CEOs across industries, and he shares how strategy and creativity have to reinforce each other right now in ways they never have before. He also talks about why branding has become a CEO's job, not just a CMO's, how to think about the brand of AI.
Plus, we go behind the scenes on Nike's New York Knicks ad, as well as its World Cup throwdown with Adidas. So to borrow a phrase, let's just do it. I'm Bob Safian, and this is Rapid Response.
I'm Bob Safian. I'm joined by Neal Arthur, CEO of Wieden and Kennedy. Neal, welcome to the show.

**Neal Arthur** (3:42)
Thanks Bob, it's great to be here.

**Bob Safian** (3:44)
So Wieden and Kennedy is known for a lot of things. Among them, your sort of deft pulse on consumers. And that's where I'd like to start. Today's business environment, it's so tricky. Like stock prices are up, but so are oil prices. AI is disrupting and exciting people. Geopolitical issues are arguably at an affliction point. There are a lot of serious contentious trends.
And at the same time, marketing messages are tending toward the playful, the practical, sometimes dare I say, the superficial. And I'm just curious, like, what your sense is about why that is, how much of that is about where the consumer emotionally is right now versus where brands are.

**Neal Arthur** (4:31)
I don't think there is a bunch of conversations in a boardroom that are like, it's serious out there, so let's make some jokes.
So just to clarify that that's not what's going on. If I had to guess, I think you saw in the pandemic, what was happening in the world was dire. And then marketers showed up and it quickly became, what was the meme, right? Of like, piano music ads. And I think people would probably prefer escape more than they want to be reminded from brand X that times are interesting. Let's say that.

**Bob Safian** (5:11)
And so when you're in there talking with CEOs and leadership teams across all industries, because you guys do work for a broad range, like what kind of conversations are they having?
I mean, is the mood in there like fear and wait and see, or optimism and go for it? What are you feeling?